Politics & Government

Primer: Write-in Candidate Info for Braintree's Election

Braintree's local election is Nov. 5, 2013.

With only two candidates running for three open, four-year seats on the Braintree School Committee, a write-in candidate will most likely fill a seat on the committee come January.

Keeping that in mind, below is information that voters and write-in candidate should know for the Nov.5 election, courtesy of the Town Clerk's office and based on Massachusetts General Law. 

  • A write-in may be done either by physically writing someone's name in on a blank space at the bottom of that section of the paper ballot, or by affixing a sticker to that blank space
  • If you are going to be a write-candidate, though not required, the Town Clerk highly encourages candidates to inform the clerk's office and to inform the public
  • All write-in stickers should include the correct name and address of candidates, though "Courts have ruled that a vote should be counted whenever the intent of the voter can reasonably be determined, even if a voter omits" that information
  • Write-in and sticker votes are only counted for the office where the sticker is placed on the ballot
  • Campaign material, including write-in stickers, cannot be distributed within 150 feet of a polling place
  • For scanner systems, sticker campaigns must meet the following requirements:

1. The sticker for an individual candidate should be 2 1⁄4” long by 1⁄4” high to fit the space on the ballot. You may ask your local election official for a sample ballot to make sure you prepare your stickers the correct size.

2. The name of the candidate shall be printed in black ink exactly as it appears on the voting list, in capital letters 1/8” to 1/4" in height. The number and street (if any) and the city or the town where the candidate resides shall be added after the name in smaller type size than the name. No political or other designation (such as Republican, veteran, present representative, etc.) shall appear. If running on a municipal office ballot, you do not need to include the name of the city or town.

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3. Voters should be instructed how to affix the sticker, depending on whether it is self-adhering or the type that must be moistened. Sticker directions, including exactly where to place the sticker, may be attached to a card, which may also contain information about the candidate.

4. Voters should be instructed to place the sticker in one of the spaces provided beneath the list of candidates for that office and to complete the voter indicator (fill in the oval or connect the arrow). Although the voter is not required to join together the arrow pointing to the candidate or fill in the oval next to the candidate, if they do, the vote tabulator will segregate the ballot for hand-counting after the polls close.

Find out what's happening in Braintreewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

5. Stickers must not be distributed inside the polling place or within the building in which the polling place is located, or less than 150 feet from the entrance to the polling place. 

Use Patch's 2013 Braintree Election Blog to share information on stand-outs, coffee events, fundraisers and whatever else the community should know.



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